US20170026671A1 - Monitoring individual viewing of television events using tracking pixels and cookies - Google Patents

Abstract

A real-time content identification and tracking system enabling monitoring of television programming consumption specific to an individual television or other viewing device. Metrics collected may include data regarding viewing of specific broadcast media, commercial messages, interactive on-screen information or other programming, as well as locally cached, time-shifted programming. Information about media consumption by such specific television sets or other viewing means may be returned to a commercial client of the system through a trusted third-party intermediary service and, in certain embodiments, encoded tokens may be used to manage the display of certain events as well as to enable robust auditing of each involved party's contractual performance.

Description

RELATED PATENT APPLICATION
• This application claims priority from and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/920,086 filed on Dec. 23, 2013.
BACKGROUND
• The traditional television (TV) viewing experience and the process of accessing video media over the Internet have been converging for some time and are now becoming co-dependent. As a business model, both of these forms of media delivery have experimented over the years with monthly subscription fees and pay-per-view revenue models, but the advertising-supported model remains the dominant economic engine for both.
• Financial support from advertisers is usually based on the number of viewers exposed to the advertisement with the advertiser being charged a fee for every thousand “impressions” or times that the advertisement is viewed; usually called “cost per thousand” or “CPM”. Generally speaking, higher CPM rates are charged for advertising that can provide additional details about those individual impressions, such as the time of day it was viewed or the market area where the viewing occurred. Associating the impressions with demographic information regarding those seeing the advertisement is even more valuable, particularly when that demographic is one that advertisers believe to offer better prospects for positive actions regarding the product or service being promoted.
• For content accessed by personal computers or any other type of Internet-connected device, a viewer's Internet browsing activities may be readily detected and captured via various techniques. The most common technique is the use of a “cookie”, also known as an HTTP cookie, web cookie, or browser cookie. This is a small data file sent from the website being browsed to the user's browser. The browser then sends the cookie back to the server every time the website is re-loaded so that the server can be made aware of the user's previous activity on that server. This approach enables “shopping carts” to retain earlier, uncompleted purchases, and to pre-authenticate users so that they do not need to re-enter certain identification.
• Cookies may also be used to build a history of previous browsing. Such information is beneficially used to enable the presentation of commercial offers that are more likely to be of interest to the user than arbitrary placements. For example, a user in Philadelphia who browses a search engine, such as Google, to look for say, “Hotels in Seattle,” would find that many websites browsed later would be displaying ads for Seattle travel, tours, entertainment, local attractions, and other custom-served offers. This is a result of certain data about the search activity being stored locally on the user's computer in the form of a data cookie.
• Another common technique leverages the fact that most commercial web pages are not wholly self-contained. For a variety of technical and commercial reasons, many elements seen on the displayed web page are instead assembled “on the fly” by using content downloaded from many different servers, often geographically dispersed. Hence the screen location where a certain picture, animation or advertisement would be displayed is often actually blank when initially downloaded, but contains program instructions, most commonly in the HTML or JavaScript languages, that makes a request or “call” to the server where the needed content resides.
• These requests typically include the IP address of the requesting computer, the time the content was requested, the type of web browser that made the request, the nature of the display it has to appear on, and other specifics. In addition to acting on the request and serving the requested content, the server can store all of this information and associate it with a unique tracking token, sometimes in the form of a browser cookie, attached to the content request.
• Even where the web page does not need additional content to complete the user's viewing experience, this same technique can be used to gain insight into the actions and habits of the person browsing the site, which can then be used to personalize the types of advertising served to the user. This can be accomplished by programming web pages to request a graphic element from a particular server using an invisible (non-displaying) graphic file known as a “tracking pixel.” These are (usually) tiny image files (GIFs, JPEGs, PNGs, etc.) whose Internet address is put into web pages and other HTML documents. When the particular page containing such a tracking pixel is loaded, the web browser then sends a request, typically via the Internet, to a server at the address of the embedded web graphic. The addressed server sends the requested graphic file (e.g., a tracking pixel) and logs the event of the request for the specific graphic. These tracking pixel files are sometimes known by other names such as web bugs, transparent pixels, tracking bugs, pixel tags, web beacons or clear gifs. Regardless of what these token images are called, their function is largely the same.
• In many commercial applications, an advertiser or its agency or other third-party service might decide to track impressions (as discussed above, an impression constitutes one person viewing one message) with a tracking pixel. Each time the advertisement is displayed, code in the displaying web page addresses some server, locally or across the Internet, containing the tracking pixel. The server answering the request then records information that can include the user's IP Address, Hostname, Device type, Screen Size, Operating System, Web browser, and the Date that the image was viewed.
• In traditional TV viewing, commercial ratings data is typically collected and analyzed in an offline fashion by media research companies such as the Nielsen Company, using specialized equipment sometimes called a “Home Unit” that the research company has arranged to get connected to TV sets in a limited number of selected households. These devices record when the TV was tuned to a particular channel, however, there is currently an unmet need for reliable techniques to measure whether a specific video segment, (either broadcast content or advertisement) was actually watched by the viewer. Meanwhile, there is still no truly reliable process for confirming if and when broadcast content that has been recorded and stored on a DVR or the like is viewed at some later time.
• Further, with existing monitoring services, such as Nielsen, there is a material delay between the time a program is broadcast and the availability of reliable, broadly-sampled information about what programming was watched in which markets and by what demographics is made available to either the content providers or advertisers. It is also a matter of significant controversy how valid the projections to the whole U.S. could be when they have been extrapolated from such a small sample of potential viewers (estimated to be approximately one out of every ten thousand households).
• Consequently, the ability to accurately determine in near real-time exactly what TV program or advertisement each and every TV viewer in the U.S. is watching at any moment has long been an unmet market need. One reason this has been such a challenge is because it would require being able to identify not just what channel has been tuned to, but specifically what content is being watched, since the media actually being consumed by the viewer can include not just the scheduled programming but also regionally or locally-inserted advertisements, content that has been time-shifted, or other entertainment products.
• Some attempts have been made to use audio matching technology to map what is being heard on the home TV set to a database of “audio fingerprints.” This is a process that purports to match the fingerprints to certain specific content. The speed and reliability of such technology that has been made commercially available to date has been found to have limitations. Video matching of screen images to known content is computationally more challenging than using audio but theoretically more accurate and useful. Matching the video segment being viewed to a database of samples (including those extracted only seconds previously from a live TV event) has offered a substantial technical challenge but has been effectively employed and is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 8,595,781, among others.
SUMMARY
• The subject matter disclosed in detail below is directed to a real-time content identification and tracking system enabling monitoring of television programming consumption specific to an individual television or other viewing device. Metrics collected may include data regarding viewing of specific broadcast media, commercial messages, interactive on-screen information or other programming, as well as locally cached, time-shifted programming. Information about media consumption by such specific television sets or other viewing means may be returned to a commercial client of the system through a trusted third-party intermediary service and, in certain embodiments, encoded tokens may be used to manage the display of certain events as well as to enable robust auditing of each involved party's contractual performance.
• More specifically, the systems and methods disclosed herein enable the identification of a video segment being watched or the identification of an interactive message being displayed on a video screen of any connected TV viewing device, such as a smart TV, a TV with a cable set-top box, or a TV with an Internet-based set-top box. Furthermore, this video segment identification system accurately identifies the segments whether broadcast, previously recorded, or a commercial message, while incorporating that ability into an integrated system enabling the provision of a number of new products and services to commercial clients in many ways similar to the usage tracking functionality provided by so-called cookies and tracking pixels for media consumption over the Internet. Various embodiments of systems and methods are described in detail below from the perspective of commercial practicality.
• The ability to monitor the viewing of events on Internet-connected televisions at a multiplicity of locations can be used in conjunction with the display of contextually targeted content. The contextually targeted content is usually embedded within a contextually targeted display application module (hereinafter “contextually targeted display application”). One or more contextually targeted display applications are then sent ahead of time from the central server means to (and loaded in) each participating TV system prior to the display of a video segment of interest associated with those application modules. Sometimes when a contextually targeted display application is executed, the contextually targeted display application calls out to other servers across the Internet to get additional (or current) information to update, or add to, the content already embedded within the application module. All content of a contextually targeted display application, whether sent in advance or retrieved on execution, appears within the framework of a contextually targeted display application window which pops up on the TV screen for the user to view and sometimes interact with. It should be appreciated, however, that sometimes the contextually targeted display application's role is not to display anything but rather to simply call an embedded URL address (or send an embedded encoded token) to trigger an auditing means to register (i.e., log) a viewing event.
• One aspect of the subject matter disclosed in detail below is a method, performed by a computer system, for automatically logging a viewing event on a screen of a television system, comprising the following operations: (a) storing a respective reference data set for each of a multiplicity of reference video segments in a database; (b) loading a multiplicity of contextually targeted display applications in a memory of the television system, each contextually targeted display application having a respective tracking pixel URL address embedded therein; (c) receiving video fingerprints from the television system at a server, the video fingerprints being derived from television signals for respective portions of a video segment being displayed on the screen; (d) searching the database to identify a reference data set that most matches the video fingerprint; (e) in response to identification of the matching reference data set in operation (d), identifying a contextually targeted display application which is associated with the matching reference data set; (f) in response to identification of the associated contextually targeted display application in operation (e), sending a signal identifying the associated contextually targeted display application to the television system; (g) sending a request for a tracking pixel from the television system to a server using the tracking pixel URL address embedded in the associated contextually targeted display application; (h) sending a tracking pixel from the server to the television system in response to receipt of the request for a tracking pixel; and (i) logging receipt of the request for a tracking pixel in a memory of the server. The request for the tracking pixel may include information identifying the TV system, information indicative of the geographical location of the TV system, information identifying the contextually targeted content, and the time when the request for the tracking pixel was received by the server.
• Another aspect of the subject matter disclosed below is a system for automatically logging a viewing event on a screen of a television system the system comprising a television system having a screen, first and second servers, and a database which communicate via a network. The database stores a respective reference data set for each of a multiplicity of reference video segments. The television system is programmed to derive video fingerprints from television signals for a respective portion of a video segment being displayed on the screen. The first server is programmed to: load a multiplicity of contextually targeted display applications in a memory of the television system, each contextually targeted display application having a respective tracking pixel URL address embedded therein; receive the video fingerprints from the television system; search the database to identify a reference data set that most matches the video fingerprint; identify a contextually targeted display application which is associated with the matching reference data set; and send a signal identifying the associated contextually targeted display application to the television system. The TV system is further programmed to send a request for a tracking pixel to the tracking pixel URL address embedded in the associated contextually targeted display application, which tracking pixel URL address is located at the second server. The second server is programmed to receive the request for a tracking pixel from the television system, send the tracking pixel to the television system, and log receipt of the request for a tracking pixel in memory.
• A further aspect is a method, performed by a computer system, for automatically logging a viewing event on a screen of a television system, comprising the following operations: (a) storing a respective reference data set for each of a multiplicity of reference video segments in a database; (b) loading a multiplicity of contextually targeted display applications in a memory of the television system, each contextually targeted display application having a respective encoded token embedded therein; (c) receiving video fingerprints from the television system at a server, the video fingerprints being derived from television signals for respective portions of a video segment being displayed on the screen; (d) searching the database to identify a reference data set that most matches the video fingerprint; (e) in response to identification of the matching reference data set in operation (d), identifying a contextually targeted display application which is associated with the matching reference data set; (f) in response to identification of the associated contextually targeted display application in operation (e), sending a signal identifying the associated contextually targeted display application to the television system; (g) sending an encoded token embedded in the associated contextually targeted display application from the television system to an auditing server; (h) decoding the encoded token at the auditing server; and (i) logging receipt of the encoded token in a memory of the auditing server.
• Yet another aspect is a system for automatically logging a viewing event on a screen of a television system the system comprising a television system having a screen, first and second servers, and a database which communicate via a network. The database stores a respective reference data set for each of a multiplicity of reference video segments. The television system is programmed to derive video fingerprints from television signals for a respective portion of a video segment being displayed on the screen. The first server is programmed to: load a multiplicity of contextually targeted display applications in a memory of the television system, each contextually targeted display application having a respective encoded token embedded therein; receive video fingerprints from the television system, the video fingerprints being derived from television signals for respective portions of a video segment being displayed on the screen; search the database to identify a reference data set that most matches the video fingerprint; identify a contextually targeted display application which is associated with the matching reference data set; and send a signal identifying the associated contextually targeted display application to the television system. The TV system is further programmed to send an encoded token embedded in the associated contextually targeted display application to the second server. The second server is programmed to receive and decode the encoded token from the television system and log receipt of the encoded token in a memory.
• Other aspects of systems and methods for automatically logging viewing events on Internet-connected televisions are disclosed below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• FIG. 1ashows an embodiment enabling specific video segments to be identified by sampling the video frame buffer of a television, creating fingerprints and then comparing those fingerprints to a previously cached database of fingerprints of known programming. If a match is found, the system determines if there is a system event scheduled to be associated with the arrival of the programming and executes the event on the client device while reporting the activity to the central system.
• FIG. 1bshows an embodiment of a system and method for enabling a commercial client of the system to monitor specific television programming consumption in real-time, including the viewing of interactive information displayed locally by the television client, using an approach analogous to how Internet websites use tracking pixels to monitor and record specific user's viewing of web pages.
• FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a system and a method for enabling real-time identification of specific television programming consumption by a service provider and then returning that information to a commercial client of the system without the client's involvement
• FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment of a system and method for enabling real-time identification of specific television programming consumption and returning that information in the form of a cookie to a commercial client of the system through a trusted third-party intermediary service in order to confirm delivery, with secondary confirmation returned to the system to verify the third-party's report.
• FIG. 4 shows an additional embodiment of a system and method for enabling real-time identification of specific television programming consumption and returning that information to a commercial client of the system through a trusted third-party intermediary service. This embodiment incorporates additional steps to provide control and service verification by the client through the use of encoded tokens managing the display of events according to additional criteria. This is coupled with robust auditing of each involved party's performance using encoded tokens and redundant confirmations that may be cross-checked to enable client verification of service delivery.
• FIG. 5 is a flowchart that summarizes an initial setup processing sequence utilized by certain embodiments, such as the example depicted inFIG. 3. This embodiment uses a video tracking URL to call the client server in a manner analogous to how traditional HTML web pages obtain graphic elements and other files from servers accessed over the Internet.
• FIG. 6 is a flowchart that summarizes a second processing sequence utilized by certain embodiments, such as the system depicted inFIG. 3. This embodiment enables relatively more robust tracking and confirmation services to be offered to the customer as compared to certain other embodiments.
• FIG. 7 is a flowchart that summarizes an initial setup processing sequence utilized by certain other embodiments, such as the system depicted inFIG. 4. This embodiment accepts a coded token sent by the customer to provide additional data integrity and auditing capabilities.
• FIG. 8 is a flowchart that summarizes a second processing sequence utilized by other embodiments, such as the system depicted inFIG. 4. This processing sequence enables the delivery of more efficient customer support features, including even more robust security features.
• Reference will hereinafter be made to the drawings in which similar elements in different drawings bear the same reference numerals.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• The means of using tracking pixels is a legacy from personal computers and web browsers. When a web browser addresses a web site, the web server sends a program to the web browser in the form of hyper-text markup language (HTML), which itself contains many subprogram modules such as Java, Adobe Flash and JavaScript, among others. Furthermore, these elements often come from different servers.
• All of the information (text, graphics, videos) is assembled by the HTML program into a single displaying page within the computer's browser. Within the displayed page will be various windows, some with graphics, some with video. Also, on the web page will be advertisements from various sponsors. The ads themselves are made up of HTML code. This HTML code will also contain Java, Flash, JavaScript and other program elements. This code is supplied to the web site operator by the ad agency representing the advertiser.
• Hundreds to thousands of lines of computer code instructs the computer web browser on exactly what text, graphics and video to display, including what fonts to use, what color of text, color of background, precisely where text and pictures are displayed or video windows are positioned. Among the program elements supplied by the ad agency will be a graphic element in JPEG or PNG format, just like what comes from a digital camera, called a ‘tracking pixel’. It might be a one-by-one pixel size and set to be 100% transparent so that it does not show in the displayed content. However, when the computer browser executes the HTML code from the web site, when the program gets to the advertisement, the browser calls out across the Internet to the advertiser's servers (one for graphics, one for video (if any), and one for event tracking (auditing)) to get the various elements to form the ad window subsection of the web page. The HTML reads a program element called a GET which instructs the program to call a URL to, among other things, obtain something needed for the rendering and display of a webpage. When executing this instruction (i.e., go get the graphic element at the URL address), it makes a call to the advertiser's server (hereinafter “ad server”) at that URL address. That ad server then sends the element (the tracking pixel, in this example) back to the web browser of the client system. The display of the tracking pixel is irrelevant but the act of the ad server responding to the GET call from the web browser of the client system causes an event to be logged that tells the advertiser that an ad was displayed on a web page in, for example, Weehawken, N.J. The ad server will also log the time and date of the request.
• This means of auditing advertisements allows a high degree of confidence in the system compared to a web site operator merely reporting back to the advertiser the number of times a web page was displayed. However, the web site operator also wants to know how many times the ad was displayed so it can track its own advertisement billing. Due to the complexities of web servers and web browser, a server may send one or more pages of HTML but not all of it gets displayed, so in the case of the example above, neither the web site operator nor the advertiser could know how often the ad had been displayed from only statistics of the web site operator's servers sending out the HTML code upon the request of a web browser in some home.
• In accordance with the systems disclosed hereinafter, the foregoing tracking pixel methodology is extended to smart TVs that contain a small computer or processor programmed to execute a web browser application. This computer system inside the TV system can take over the screen of the TV and display the very same content one sees on a personal computer. However, the use of this computer system is usually toward providing a “walled garden” of pre-programmed applications very similar to a smart phone. Such pre-loaded programs (applications) might be an application to watch movies from over the Internet or an application to get the latest news. The resulting user experience is almost identical to a smart phone or iPad experience. In reality, these applications are basically just pre-packaged web scripts usually written in HTML. When the application runs, it invokes a software program call to a web server to send all the information needed to display the web page. Of course, the information received from web site operator by the smart TV is in a format suitable for a larger display 10 feet from the viewer as opposed to an iPad held in one's hands. This programmatic means by itself could not be applied to live television as this Internet language of HTML was intended as a static means of linking information from multiple computers (not to be confused with the ability of webpages to display video within windows on said web page).
• The novelty of the video tracking pixel disclosed herein stems from using this underlying technology of tracking pixels, but extending its utility into video by applying video matching whereby the act of identifying a video segment by a video matching means can be used to trigger a program to run in the computer system of a smart TV or set-top box. When that program runs, part of its program code addresses a distant computer server to request that the server send a graphic element back to the program operating in the smart TV or set-top box. The system of video tracking pixels is using existing Internet programmatic language and existing Internet server means used for the prior art of webpage tracking pixels.
• The uses of tracking pixels in the context of television provides a means for a third party to verify that a video segment of interest to the third party has been displayed on a television. Again, this video segment of interest could be an advertisement of a company's product or an advertisement of a competitor's product. For example, Competitor A, the Ford Motor company, might like to know how many times an ad of a Competitor B, the Toyota Motor Company, is seen in a particular market. Competitor A can obtain this information by contracting the video tracking pixel service to place an application in every smart TV in a market area of interest, e.g., New York City metropolitan area, that triggers every time a Competitor B ad is displayed on the respective TV. In other uses, if the application that is triggered in the home displays contextually targeted information (information that appears on the television screen in a pop-up window), this event is audited by the same means as the previous example of simply detecting the display of a video segment of interest. That is, the video tracking pixel provides an independent means for the customer of a contextually targeted information service to verify the delivery to and subsequent display of the service to a multiplicity of televisions.
• Current means of auditing the display of television programming or advertisements are inexact because, for instance, the buyer of a TV ad spot only knows how many times that buyer's ad was broadcast but not how many TV sets were on and tuned to the channel when the ad was aired. Several companies have devised means to statistically measure household TV viewing events but this is a very inexact science and cannot accurately measure actually viewing. For instance, at a commercial break, the viewer might tune away to check another channel and miss the advertisement. By means of the video tracking pixel methodology disclosed in detail below, the actual viewing of the ad (or any video segment of interest) can be measured. If the ad involves contextually targeted information, the display of this additional information can likewise be verified.
• Methods for matching viewed video with reference video stored in a database will now be described with reference toFIGS. 1aand 1b, which depict, on a high level, components of systems for enabling specific video segments to be identified by sampling the video frame buffer of a television. The systems shown inFIGS. 1aand 1brepresent useful examples to provide background for additional embodiments of systems and methods disclosed below with reference toFIGS. 2-4.
• As can be seen inFIG. 1a, a matching server101 (of a matching server system) receives reference video feeds102 of a plurality of TV channels or other video information, such as feature films or archival video footage, and builds areference database103 of their digital fingerprints that is stored in a computer memory. The fingerprints are composed of samples of at least a subset of the received video frames. These samples may be, but are not limited to, one or more video sub-areas of a video frame further processed by averaging or other techniques known to those skilled in the art.
• The matchingserver101 preferably comprises a multiplicity of centrally located matching servers, only one of which is depicted inFIG. 1a. Each matching server may in turn comprise a multiplicity of processors programmed to perform different functions, such video segment recognition and contextual targeting management. Each matching server in turn may communicate with a respective multiplicity of remotely located TV systems, only one of which is depicted inFIG. 1a. The system partly depicted inFIG. 1a(and the systems partly depicted inFIGS. 1band2-4) will be described with reference to a single TV system communicating with a single matching server, although it should be understood that in practice multiple TV systems will communicate with multiple matching servers.
• Referring toFIG. 1a, the remotely locatedTV system108 is capable of communicating with the matchingserver101 viacommunication channels106,107 and115 (e.g., the Internet). TheTV system108 may be a smart TV or a TV monitor with an external set-top controller. Video programming from a TV video frame buffer (not shown inFIG. 1a) is received by aTV client109. TheTV client109 is a software application operating in the computer or processor ofTV System108. The TV system samples the data from the TV video frame buffer and generates unknown (i.e., not yet identified) video fingerprints which are sent viacommunication channel107 to the matchingserver101 to be matched with data in thereference database103.
• More specifically, the video fingerprints that result from the processing in theTV system108 are passed viacommunication channel107 to a videosegment recognition processor105 that is part of the matchingserver101. The fingerprints of the unknown video are generated by theTV client109 using an algorithm which is similar to the algorithm used by the matchingserver101 to store the reference videos in thereference database103. The videosegment recognition processor105 continuously searches thereference database103, attempting to find a match of the incoming video fingerprints using a search means according to methods known in the art such as the method taught by Neumeier et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 8,595,781, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. When videosegment recognition processor105 finds a match of a known fingerprint inreference database103 with an unknown fingerprint of a video segment received fromTV system108, the videosegment recognition processor105 sends a message to acontextual targeting manager104 identifying the video segment being displayed by theTV system108. (As used herein, the term “manager” refers to a processor or computer programmed to execute application software for performing a data management or data processing function.) Thecontextual targeting manager104 determines what, if any, events are to be associated with the detection of the newly identified video fingerprint fromTV client109. Upon determining the appropriate response, thecontextual targeting manager104 sends a coded trigger to anapplication manager110 of theTV system108 viacommunication channel106. (Theapplication manager110 is software running on the same processor inTV system108 that the TV client software is running on.) Theapplication manager110 launches and triggers or otherwise signals the specific application that has been determined to be associated with that event.
• More specifically, theapplication manager110 sends a trigger signal to a contextually targeteddisplay application112 via acommunication channel111. TheTV system108 may be loaded with multiple contextually targeted display applications. (The contextually targeteddisplay application112 is software running on the same processor inTV system108 that the TV client software is running on.) In one example, a contextually targeteddisplay application112 may be invoked to display a related graphic image overlaid on the video screen of theTV system108 with information related to, for example, a television advertisement currently being displayed. The graphic overlay comes from either an embedded graphic stored within the contextually targeted display application (previously downloaded from the contextual targeting manager104). Or the image can come from an external website when the contextually targeted display application renders the overlay. Similar to a web browser, the contextually targeted display application can contain URLs that point to external web sites for requesting graphics and/or videos.
• Following display of the overlay, the contextually targeteddisplay application112 sends an event complete message viacommunication channel115 to thecontextual targeting manager104, which records occurrence of the action. This last step is useful when an advertiser or another third party wishes to receive confirmation of the display on aTV system108 of the contextually targeted additional information overlay or even just that a video segment, such as an advertisement or public service announcement, has been displayed. In these cases, thecontextual targeting manager104 might provide, for example, a log file of occurrences by time and location to a third party.
• FIG. 1bshows how one embodiment of the system would operate if configured in a way similar to how many Internet websites monitor content consumption. Video programming from a TV video frame buffer ofTV system108 is received by theTV client109. As previously noted, theTV client109 is a software application operating in the computer or processor ofTV System108, which is a smart TV or a TV monitor with an external set-top controller. The video stream is processed according to methods known in the art such as taught by Neumeier et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 8,595,781.
• TheTV client109 being monitored sends video fingerprints of what is being viewed, consisting of multiple samples per second of the unknown programming being displayed on theTV109, to the matchingserver101. These video fingerprints, which contain “clues” regarding the video segment being viewed, are sent viacommunication channel107 to the videosegment recognition processor105, which attempts to match the “clues” with data in thereference database103 to identify the programming being viewed and a specific segment of the same in the samples sent, and then passes a token pointing to that information and the associated metadata for it to thecontextual targeting manager104. If and when such a segment of interest is identified, thecontextual targeting manager104 then determines what, if any, actions are to be performed. That determination is sent viacommunication channel106 to theapplication manager110 ofTV system108, which routes the information (e.g., in the form of a software script) via acommunication channel111 to the contextually targeteddisplay application112. The contextually targeteddisplay application112 then sends a request for a piece of content to display via a communication channel113 (e.g., the Internet) to an address based on a URI embedded in the software script that was provided by theapplication manager110. This request addresses aclient server116 somewhere on the Internet. The location of theclient server116 is not material to the process disclosed herein (i.e., theclient server116 can be located anywhere). Theclient server116 returns a data item, perhaps a small graphic (i.e., tracking pixel) with transparent pixels (e.g., a .png file), via acommunication channel114. Upon receipt of this data item, the contextually targeteddisplay application112 assembles the remainder of the display elements, if any, and presents an image on the screen of theTV system108, much like a web page is made up of addressable elements to be assembled by a web browser for display on a screen of a personal computer. The request for the specific graphic element sent viacommunication channel113 by the contextually targeteddisplay application112 provides information to the commercial client'sserver116 that theTV system108 has viewed the video segment of interest and that a contextually related graph overlay has been presented. For example, theclient server116 may log that event when it sends the tracking pixel viacommunication channel114 in response to receipt of a GET call viacommunication channel113. (As previously noted, the tracking pixel is not displayed on the TV system. The primary purpose for sending the tracking pixel in response to the GET call is to complete the request so that the GET call will not be repeated.)
• Another task of the contextually targeteddisplay application112 might be to pass a confirmation (i.e., event logging) message viacommunication channel115 back to the matchingserver101 to be logged for perhaps billing purposes or network reliability monitoring. The disadvantage of this embodiment is that it requires that the commercial client be an active participant in the process, burdened with maintaining itsown client server116 with a database of graphic elements (also known to the art as tracking pixels) while logging specifics of the video segment matches found based on the received requests for the graphics.
• Optionally, a particular contextually targeteddisplay application112 can be triggered to send a request for a tracking pixel, with other information including a TV system identifier, location, etc., without requesting any content to be displayed in a graphic overlay on the TV screen. Since the request for a tracking pixel was triggered by the matchingserver102 identifying an associated video segment being viewed, theclient server116 could log that event (i.e., the display of the identified video segment on the identified TV system) upon receipt of the request for tracking pixel. This methodology would allow a client server to determine the number of TV systems which viewed a particular video segment within a region of interest even when contextually targeted material is not being supplied.
• FIG. 2 depicts how another embodiment of the system would operate if configured in a way to offload the administrative burden for the commercial client of maintaining databases of graphic elements (“tracking pixels”) and corresponding access logging means on the client server216. Video programming from a TV video frame buffer (not shown inFIG. 2) is received by a TV client209. The TV system208 samples the data from the TV video frame buffer and generates unknown (i.e., not yet identified) video fingerprints. The fingerprints of the unknown video are generated by the TV client209 using an algorithm which is similar to the algorithm used by the matching server201 to store the reference videos in the reference database203. The video fingerprints contain “clues” regarding what is being viewed consisting of multiple samples per second of the unknown programming being displayed on the screen of the TV system208. These clues are sent via communication channel207 to the matching server201 to be matched with data in the reference database203. More specifically, the clues that result from the processing in the TV system208 are passed via communication channel207 to the video segment recognition processor205. The video segment recognition processor205 continuously searches the reference database203 attempting to find a match of the incoming video fingerprints. When video segment recognition processor205 finds a match of a known fingerprint in reference database203 with an unknown fingerprint of a video segment received from TV system208, the video segment recognition processor205 sends a message to a contextual targeting manager204 identifying the video segment being displayed by the TV system208. The contextual targeting manager204 determines what, if any, events are to be associated with the detection of the newly identified video fingerprint from TV client209. Upon determining the appropriate response, the contextual targeting manager204 sends a coded trigger to an application manager210 of the TV system208 via communication channel206. The application manager210 launches and triggers or otherwise signals the specific contextually targeted display application212 that has been determined to be associated with that trigger and event. More specifically, the application manager210 sends a trigger signal to a contextually targeted display application212 via a communication channel211. In one example, a contextually targeteddisplay application112 may be invoked to display a related graphic image overlaid on the video screen of the TV system208 with information related to, for example, a television advertisement currently being displayed. The contextually targeted display application212 sends an event complete message via communication channel215 to the contextual targeting manager204, which records occurrence of the action for internal tracking and accounting purposes. The contextual targeting manager204 also sends a confirmation report via communication channel217 (e.g., the Internet) to the client server216 to confirm the detection of the video segment displayed on TV system208. While reasonably efficient, this embodiment lacks the ability to support the needs of the commercial client to ensure sufficient accuracy of the video identification information received.
• FIG. 3 shows how a particularly advantageous embodiment of the system would operate when configured in a way that interposes a displayconfirmation auditing server318 as part of the process This enables thecommercial client server316 to obtain independent verification of the numbers of “hits” or viewings of their advertisement or some other particular video segment. Although the displayconfirmation auditing server318 is shown separate from theclient server316 inFIG. 3, the two servers may be combined into one server. In the case where the display confirmation auditing server is separate,server318 may be operated by a trusted third party.
• Still referring toFIG. 3, video programming from a TV video frame buffer (not shown inFIG. 3) is received by aTV client309. TheTV system308 samples the data from the TV video frame buffer and generates unknown (i.e., not yet identified) video fingerprints. The fingerprints of the unknown video are generated by theTV client309 using an algorithm which is similar to the algorithm used by the matchingserver301 to store the reference videos in thereference database303. The video fingerprints contain “clues” regarding what is being viewed consisting of multiple samples per second of the unknown programming being displayed on the screen of theTV system308. These clues are sent viacommunication channel307 to the matchingserver301 to be matched with data in thereference database303. More specifically, the clues that result from the processing in theTV system308 are passed viacommunication channel307 to the videosegment recognition processor305. The videosegment recognition processor305 continuously searches thereference database303 attempting to find a match of the incoming video fingerprints. When videosegment recognition processor305 finds a match of a known fingerprint inreference database303 with an unknown fingerprint of a video segment received fromTV system308, the videosegment recognition processor305 sends a message to acontextual targeting manager304 identifying the video segment being displayed by theTV system308. Thecontextual targeting manager304 determines what, if any, events are to be associated with the detection of the newly identified video fingerprint fromTV client309. Upon determining the appropriate response, thecontextual targeting manager304 sends a coded trigger to anapplication manager310 of theTV system308 viacommunication channel306. Theapplication manager310 launches and triggers or otherwise signals the specific contextually targeteddisplay application312 that has been determined to be associated with that event. More specifically, theapplication manager310 sends a trigger signal to that contextually targeteddisplay application312 via acommunication channel311. In one example, a contextually targeteddisplay application312 may be invoked to display a related graphic image overlaid on the video screen of theTV system308 with information related to, for example, a television advertisement currently being displayed. The contextually targeteddisplay application312 is programmed to notify theconfirmation auditing server318 viacommunication channel315athat the video segment of interest (typically identified by its time stamp and associated metadata provided by the matching server301) has been viewed by acertain TV system308 that has been appropriately identified by device, time, location, or other information through the associated metadata. This notification may include a request that the client server316 (maintained by the commercial client for the video segment viewing detection service) send a tracking pixel, which tracking pixel is sent viacommunication channel315b. Theconfirmation auditing server318 in turn passes an audited event report containing a viewing detection event indicator and associated metadata via acommunication channel319 to theclient server316.
• Optionally, the contextually targeteddisplay application312 also sends a confirmation of the event viacommunication channel317bto thecontextual targeting manager304, thereby providing a single source for both billing and verification data, for example. Optionally, theconfirmation auditing server318 may also provide a message via acommunication channel317ato thecontextual targeting manager304 indicating that theclient server316 has been notified. This means might be used to maintain an internal display confirmation audit trail of theconfirmation auditing server318.
• FIG. 4 depicts yet another embodiment of the system with certain additional advantages. As seen inFIG. 4, thevideo client409 of theTV system408, such as a television set or other video display means, receives video programming. As in the other embodiments, video programming from a TV video frame buffer (not shown inFIG. 4) is received by aTV client409. TheTV system408 samples the data from the TV video frame buffer and generates unknown (i.e., not yet identified) video fingerprints. The fingerprints of the unknown video are generated by theTV client409 using an algorithm which is similar to the algorithm used by the matchingserver401 to store the reference videos in thereference database403. The video fingerprints contain “clues” regarding what is being viewed consisting of multiple samples per second of the unknown programming being displayed on the screen of theTV system408. These clues are sent viacommunication channel407 to the matchingserver401 to be matched with data in thereference database403. More specifically, the clues that result from the processing in theTV system408 are passed viacommunication channel407 to the videosegment recognition processor405. The videosegment recognition processor405 continuously searches thereference database403 attempting to find a match of the incoming video fingerprints. When videosegment recognition processor405 finds a match of a known fingerprint inreference database403 with an unknown fingerprint of a video segment received fromTV system408, the videosegment recognition processor405 sends a message to acontextual targeting manager404 identifying the video segment being displayed by theTV system408. Thecontextual targeting manager404 determines what, if any, events are to be associated with the detection of the newly identified video fingerprint fromTV client409. Upon determining the appropriate response, thecontextual targeting manager404 sends a coded trigger to anapplication manager410 of theTV system408 viacommunication channel406. Theapplication manager410 launches and triggers or otherwise signals the specific application that has been determined to be associated with that event.
• More specifically, the videosegment recognition processor405 attempts to match the received clues to the reference data in thedatabase403 to identify the programming and specific segment of same in the samples sent, and passes a token pointing to that information and the associated metadata for it to thecontextual targeting manager404. If and when such a segment of interest is identified, thecontextual targeting manager404 then determines what, if any, actions are to be performed. When an action is to take place on theTV system408, that determination is sent viacommunication channel406 to theapplication manager410 along with a token and/or encryption seed (public key value) received from theclient server416 via acommunication channel421. The token and/or encryption seed may subsequently be used byclient server416 to uniquely identify, for verification or other purposes, any event, action, or metric associated with the token. Theapplication manager410 then routes that information viacommunication channel411 to the contextually targeteddisplay application412, which then displays a related graphic image overlaid on the video screen of theTV system408. The contextually targeteddisplay application412 is programmed to notify theconfirmation auditing server418 viacommunication channel415athat the video segment of interest (typically identified by its time stamp and associated metadata provided by the matching server401) has been viewed by acertain TV system408 that has been appropriately identified by device, time, location, or other information through the associated metadata. This notification may include a request that theclient server416 send a tracking pixel, which tracking pixel is sent viacommunication channel415b. Theconfirmation auditing server418 in turn passes an audited event report containing a viewing detection event indicator and associated metadata via acommunication channel419 to theclient server416.
• Optionally, the contextually targeteddisplay application412 also sends a confirmation of the event viacommunication channel417bto thecontextual targeting manager404. Optionally,confirmation auditing server418 may also provide a message via acommunication channel417ato thecontextual targeting manager404 indicating that theclient server416 has been notified. Optionally, thecontextual targeting manager404 sends an unaudited event report to theclient server416 via acommunication channel420.
• It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that a token as described above can be gainfully applied to the task of identifying confirmations received by the third-party verification service418 from theTV system408. For example, theclient server416 could supply a unique token for each of the top 120 demographic marketing areas (DMA) of the United States. It would then be the responsibility of the matchingserver401 to distribute the respective tokens to TV systems residing in the respective DMAs in advance of the anticipated use of the tokens. When the system disclosed herein detects a video segment, such as a TV advertisement, and theTV system408 is instructed to send a message to the third-party verification service418, a token identifying the DMA region is passed as part of the message. This assists theclient server416 in classifying the collected data. The tokens can be created for classification tasks in addition to the example of regional identification disclosed herein. Also a plurality of combinations of parameters can be assigned to tokens or multiple tokens can be distributed to the TV systems for any combination of useful metrics.
• If the client has supplied an encryption seed as a token or in addition to a token, such as a public key value of a public key/private key encryption pair, the encryption seed may be algorithmically processed by the computing means of theTV system408 to generate a unique encrypted code that, when passed to the third-party verification service418, is further passed back to theclient server416 for positive identification of specific TV systems and any video segments viewed upon those specific TV systems.
• FIG. 5 presents a flowchart that summarizes a key setup process sequence utilized by certain embodiments, such as the system depicted inFIG. 3. In this flowchart, the process is initiated with afirst step501, which involves the reception of a video tracking pixel universal resource locator (URL) from theclient server316 by the matchingserver301 from the display confirmation auditing means318 viacommunication channel317a. Then instep102, this URL is embedded in a contextually targeteddisplay application312 associated with the commercial customer (i.e., client server316). Instep503, this contextually targeted display application is then sent to selected TV clients ofrespective TV systems308, such as smart TVs or set-top boxes, in the regional, metropolitan, or local viewing area of interest to the commercial customer. In thenext step504, an event execution list is created via thecontextual targeting manager304. Thefinal step505 in this process is to send application manager310 (in the targeted TV system308) an event list which associates event trigger codes from thecontextual targeting manager304 with specific contextually targeteddisplay applications312 stored in the memory means of theTV system308. The receipt of an event trigger code from thecontextual targeting manager304 will causeapplication manager310 to launch a specific contextually targeteddisplay application312 associated with that code. xxx
• FIG. 6 shows a flowchart that summarizes a second processing sequence utilized by certain embodiments, an example of which is the system depicted inFIG. 3. As the process starts instep601, theTV system308 receives one or more contextually targeteddisplay applications312 from the matchingserver301. Instep602, theapplication manager310 receives an event trigger list fromcontextual targeting manager304 which matches the contextually targeted display applications to trigger codes sent viacontextual targeting manager304. Instep603, theTV client309 sends video information from the TV display to the videosegment recognition processor305, which is a subsystem of the matchingserver301. Instep604, the videosegment recognition processor305 monitors video from a plurality of TV systems and reports matches of unknown video segments from those TV systems to known video segments stored in a database associated with the matchingserver301. The result of this identification (ie., matching) of the unknown video segments is sent to thecontextual targeting manager304. Instep605, thecontextual targeting manager304 matches identified video segments to a list of events associated with the identified video segment. Instep606, when a particular video segment matches with an associated event, it causes thecontextual targeting manager304 to send a trigger toapplication manager310, which is part of theTV system308. Instep607, when theapplication manager310 receives a trigger from thecontextual targeting manager304,application manager310 launches the contextually targeteddisplay application312 that has been associated with the received trigger.
• FIG. 6 assumes that the displayconfirmation auditing server318 is incorporated in theclient server316. In this configuration, upon execution, the contextually targeteddisplay application312 addresses the URL embedded in the application (step608) viacommunication channel315ato obtain the designated video tracking pixel from theclient server316. Step609 involves theclient server316 sending the tracking pixel viacommunication channel315band recording the request for the tracking pixel to confirm that the associated contextually targeteddisplay application312 has been run onTV system308. Instep610, the contextually targeteddisplay application312 also sends the matchingserver301 an event confirmation in the form of a token to confirm execution of the contracted service, completing the process.
• FIG. 7 presents a flowchart that summarizes a key setup process sequence utilized by certain embodiments, such as the system depicted inFIG. 4. In this flowchart, the process is initiated by thefirst step701, which involves the reception of a video tracking pixel URL from theclient server316 by the matchingserver401 via acommunication channel421. Instep702, the URL with an associated data token is embedded in a contextually targeted display application associated with the commercial customer (client server416) for the service. Instep703, the contextually targeteddisplay application412 is then sent to a selectedTV system408 in the regional or local viewing area of interest. In thenext step704, an event execution list is created via thecontextually targeting manager404. Thefinal step705 in this process is to sendapplication manager410 an event list which associates trigger codes to be received from thecontextual targeting manager404 with contextually targeted display applications to be executed (launched) upon receipt of those trigger codes by theapplication manager410.
• FIG. 8 shows a flowchart that summarizes a modified processing sequence utilized by certain embodiments, an example of which is the system depicted inFIG. 4. As the process starts instep801, theapplication manager410 receives one or more contextually targeted display applications from thecontextual targeting manager404 of the matchingserver401. Instep802, theapplication manager410 receives a cue list from thecontextual targeting manager404 which matches contextually targeted display applications to the trigger codes. Instep803, theTV client409 sends video information from the TV display to the videosegment recognition processor405 in the matchingserver401. Instep804, the videosegment recognition processor405 monitors video from a plurality of TV systems and reports indentified video segments from those TV systems to thecontextual targeting manager404. Instep805, thecontextual targeting manager404 matches identified video segments to a list of events associated with the identified video segment. Instep806, when a particular video segment matches with an associated event, it causes thecontextual targeting manager404 to send a trigger to application.manager410 inTV system408. Instep807, when theapplication manager410 receives a trigger from thecontextual targeting manager404, theapplication manager410 launches the contextually targeteddisplay application412 which theapplication manager410 determines to be associated with that trigger.
• FIG. 8 assumes that the displayconfirmation auditing server318 is incorporated in theclient server316. In this configuration, upon execution, the launched contextually targeteddisplay application412 instep808 calls the URL embedded in that application and sends a data token that may also be embedded in that application or, alternatively, previously stored in a known location in a memory of theTV system408. Step809 involves theclient server416 recording a request for a tracking pixel to confirm that the associated contextually targeteddisplay application412 has been run onTV system408. Instep810, the contextually targeteddisplay application412 also sends an event confirmation in the form of a token to the matchingserver401 to confirm execution of the contracted service, completing the process.
• While systems and methods have been described with reference to various embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the teachings herein. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt the concepts and reductions to practice disclosed herein to a particular situation. Accordingly, it is intended that the subject matter covered by the claims not be limited to the disclosed embodiments.
• As used in the claims, the term “computer system” should be construed broadly to encompass a system having at least one computer or processor, and which may have multiple computers or processors that communicate through a network or bus. As used in the preceding sentence, the terms “computer” and “processor” both refer to devices comprising a processing unit (e.g., a central processing unit) and some form of memory (i.e., computer-readable medium) for storing a program which is readable by the processing unit.
• The method claims set forth hereinafter should not be construed to require that the steps recited therein be performed in alphabetical order (alphabetical ordering in the claims is used solely for the purpose of referencing previously recited steps) or in the order in which they are recited. Nor should they be construed to exclude any portions of two or more steps being performed concurrently or alternatingly.

Claims (21)

1-33. (canceled)

34. A computer-implemented method comprising:

storing, by a processor of a server, multiple reference data sets, wherein a reference data set is associated with a reference video segment;

determining multiple remotely stored applications, wherein a contextual application is associated with a reference data set, and wherein a contextual application has a corresponding address;

repeatedly receiving one or more video fingerprints, wherein a video fingerprint is associated with one or more frames of a video segment being displayed;

identifying a reference data set matching one or more frames of a video segment associated with a received video fingerprint;

identifying a particular contextual application, wherein the particular contextual application is associated with the reference data set, and wherein the particular contextual application has a corresponding address; and

sending a signal identifying the particular contextual application, wherein when received at a media system, the signal causes the media system to display content from the particular contextual application and to send a message to an additional server at the corresponding address, and wherein receiving the message at the additional server causes the additional server to log a viewing event associated with the particular contextual application.

35. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 34, wherein the message includes information identifying the media system.

36. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 34, wherein the message includes information indicative of a geographical location of the media system.

37. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 34, wherein the message includes information identifying content included in the particular contextual application.

38. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 34, wherein a corresponding address of a contextual application is a URL address.

39. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 34, wherein the media system receives the contextual applications and the message using the Internet.

40. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 34, wherein the media system sends the one or more video fingerprints and the message using the Internet.

41. A server comprising:

one or more processors; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:

store, by the one or more processors, multiple reference data sets, wherein a reference data set is associated with a reference video segment;

determine multiple remotely stored applications, wherein a contextual application is associated with a reference data set, and wherein a contextual application has a corresponding address;

repeatedly receive one or more video fingerprints, wherein a video fingerprint is associated with one or more frames of a video segment being displayed;

identify a reference data set matching one or more frames of a video segment associated with a received video fingerprint;

identify a particular contextual application, wherein the particular contextual application is associated with the reference data set, and wherein the particular contextual application has a corresponding address; and

send a signal identifying the particular contextual application, wherein when received at a media system, the signal causes the media system to display content from the particular contextual application and to send a message to an additional server at the corresponding address, and wherein receiving the message at the additional server causes the additional server to log a viewing event associated with the particular contextual application.

42. The server ofclaim 41, wherein the message includes information identifying the media system.

43. The server ofclaim 41, wherein the message includes information indicative of a geographical location of the media system.

44. The server ofclaim 41, wherein the message includes information identifying content included in the particular contextual application.

45. The server ofclaim 41, wherein a corresponding address of a contextual application is a URL address.

46. The server ofclaim 41, wherein the media system receives the contextual applications and the message using the Internet.

47. The server ofclaim 41, wherein the media system sends the one or more video fingerprints and the request for message using the Internet.

48. A computer-program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, including instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

store, by a processor of a server, multiple reference data sets, wherein a reference data set is associated with a reference video segment;

determine multiple remotely stored applications, wherein a contextual application is associated with a reference data set, and wherein a contextual application has a corresponding address;

repeatedly receive one or more video fingerprints, wherein a video fingerprint is associated with one or more frames of a video segment being displayed;

identify a reference data set matching one or more frames of a video segment associated with a received video fingerprint;

identify a particular contextual application, wherein the particular contextual application is associated with the reference data set, and wherein the particular contextual application has a corresponding address; and

send a signal identifying the particular contextual application, wherein when received at a media system, the signal causes the media system to display content from the particular contextual application and to send a message to an additional server at the corresponding address, and wherein receiving the message at the additional server causes the additional server to log a viewing event associated with the particular contextual application.

49. The computer-program product ofclaim 48, wherein the message includes information identifying the media system.

50. The computer-program product ofclaim 48, wherein the message includes information indicative of a geographical location of the media system.

51. The computer-program product ofclaim 48, wherein the message includes information identifying content included in the particular contextual application.

52. The computer-program product ofclaim 48, wherein a corresponding address of a contextual application is a URL address.

53. The computer-program product ofclaim 48, wherein the media system sends the one or more video fingerprints and the message using the Internet.

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